We've all done it: looked everywhere for those unwrapped presents just waiting to be wrapped for Christmas. What's wrong with looking anyway?

Steps

Part 1

Finding the Gifts

1

Start with the obvious: look in basements, in the trunk of their cars, under beds, on top of shelves. Parents are usually busy and may not have time to hide presents well.

2

Examine any suspicious boxes or bags for company or store names as shipped boxes may have a return address. If you wanted something from that company, you can get a pretty good idea of what might be inside.

3

Don't look just at the biggest present. They may have bought you tickets to a show you really wanted to go to, or bought you a voucher for a shop you really love. Think about what you want. If you want a car, it will be big, but if you want to go to have your ears pierced, they may just give you a card saying that's what you are going to do.

4

If you asked for something unusual, consider what they may ask you of this item (where do you get it, what does it do, who else has it...). This means they are at least thinking about buying it.

5

Question siblings. A classic maneuver. Arrange an exchange of information if you must-this is often the case with older siblings.

6

Check bags for store receipts. They may have information about recent purchases.

7

If still stumped, think about your parents' shopping habits. Did they most likely order your gifts online or did they store-buy? If online, check the order history on their online accounts. Amazon.com keeps lists of all of one's orders-a real jackpot. Most smart parents know what you're trying to do so be VERY sneaky!

8

If you have a friend owning something you requested (especially something your parents are unfamiliar with), they may call your friend's parents to ask them about it. This is a huge clue, but is also easily hidden by parents.

The hardest gifts are the ones your parents keep at your neighbor's house. That includes dogs, bikes, etc. While hard to get clues, try to find where your parents are stashing these gifts, like if your Mom stops at a neighbor's house after shopping.

11

Parents often leave presents in the car trunk. Usually they keep them there for awhile--for the opportunity to sneak it home or to a neighbor's house. You may be able to sneak a peek at the trunk when you go to the garage for some bogus reason.

12

Though trickier, you can also peek at wrapped gifts. This requires some skill and is not for the untrained.

13

When they are out, check your parents' Internet history to see if they bought or looked at what you asked for.

14

If you have sheds at your house, or you live on a farm, it is possible that gifts will be hidden there.

15

Take a DVD box and compare to gifts of similar size. If it rattles, bingo, you've got a disc. It could be a DVD or a video game, especially if that's what you wanted. This is a good, non-invasive method.

16

Feel the boxes of the presents you want, make sure you feel all the soft spots and where exactly they were. When you get home, feel the boxes wrapped up under the tree, feel the edges and for soft spots, if you know where all the creases of the box, you should know what present it is.

17

If you know how to enter your parent's email/texts do so. Sometimes you could find conformation emails or even have your parents talking about it(ex. Have you bought (your name)'s Xbox yet?)

Part 2

Taking a Peek

1

Make sure to "borrow" all of the supplies that you'll need to open the gift.

2

Make sure you know or have the same wrapping paper as the present, and a lot of it, so you won't have to get caught not being able to wrap it back!

3

Pad the box with pillows so your parents won't hear the rattling while walking around.

4

Put the tape at the bottom.

5

Put the scissors next to the tape.

6

Next on top is the wrapping paper. Then the screwdriver.

7

Also on top place the letter opener, flash light, the paper clips and a blanket.

Put away the gift for now, if you don't like it. You can replace it. If you didn't replace, keep reading:

13

Once you remember it, like it, and got details, you need to wrap the present all over again. Use the same wrapping paper your parents used, and try to wrap the paper the same way as your parents did. Once it is back, put the present back where you found it.

14

Put all the borrowed supplies back exactly where you found them or your parents will suspect something.

15

If you have a bagged present, then this is easy as pie! Just take out the tissue paper carefully and put it back when you're done.

Part 3

Remember Your Parents' Observations

1

You said something like, "I want a new camera someday." Remember stuff you wanted and your parents wanted to get you that for Christmas.

Your parents always refresh their minds on Christmas on what to get you.

2

If you gave them a Christmas list, look for it they might have crossed out what they already bought.

3

Look in the garage.

Community Q&A

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My parents already got me a present for Christmas and I really want to know what it is. Where should I look for the present hiding spot?

wikiHow Contributor

It all depends on what kind of little spaces you have in your house. Check closets, under couches our beds, etc.

If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know.

Tips

Only open one end of the box to see what the package under the paper looks like. If it's just cardboard and you can't tell what it is, just forget it or go to a different present!

Look at the computer history!

Present hunting is best done roughly one to two weeks before Christmas. This number deviates based on the procrastination level of parents.

Parents don't like to ask you directly, so it may be good to stage an artificial conversation with a friend or family member while the gift buyer is in the same room.

Check if the internet history has been recently cleared.

If you don't want to go through the hassle of trying to re-wrap the present how your parents did, when you open it only cut the tap holding down one side and slide it out that way. Then, once you've finished whatever it is you do with it, slide it back in, the same way you slid it out before, and re-tape it. No hassle, less easy to notice.

Stay alert to "fishing questions" that parents tend to ask in December. A fishing question is an open-ended question a parent asks about a certain toy or entertainment item. I.e., "Josh, have you ever played Final Fantasy before?" "Mary, have you read a lot of books about games or have you read Game Informer lately?" "Do any of your friends play PS3?" "Do you like to wear hats?" "Isn't your winter jacket getting a little old?" The way to help things along is to direct the question: "No, my winter jacket should be good for at least 2 years, but what I really need is a digital camera for my field trip next month."

Ask your mom if you can have some gum out of her purse. If she says yes, make sure you get the gum and check for any receipts. The receipts will tell you what the gifts are and how much she paid for them.

When asking for something, or writing a list, make sure to be as specific as possible. Include brand name, company, color, any special specifications. For example, if you want a computer, include specs so your parents can order it with those. Make it easy on your parents!

Make sure if you really want to do this. On Christmas morning you will spoil surprise and be sadder than ever having your family staring at you and begging to tell the truth!

Go to a store and show your parents what you want for Christmas, then you go feeling underneath the tree when your parents aren't home. You may be getting what you wanted, since you specified what you wanted, and from where.

Don't do it on Christmas when it's 7:00 AM-do it between (3:00~5:00). You will probably be caught.

Try to find out the size of your wanting present, if you found out the size and the presents are under the tree, sneak the present in your room, or somewhere secret and copy the present to the size of the box.(Note: If you write the size before any of these steps it will be really easier)(Note: If your parents prank you on Christmas putting your present into another present and faking to not have it just wait until Christmas trust me you do not want to be caught they can take back your Christmas present be cautioned! Check when they go out or something than there is your advantage to sneak peek.

Make sure you don't pout or cry when you take a sneak peek and its not what you wanted remember, they might hide the present in a bigger box or your present might not be a present, but just a box with something you don't want in it!

Some parents may move around presents or put different presents in different spots. Be aware of this, if you found a gift in one place, then you go look in the same place and it's not there, your parents may be on to you or simply being "cunning".

Sometimes parents will wrap a gift but not things that go with it: for example, If they got you a computer then they might have wrapped the computer itself, but not its mouse.

One way to make it easy to figure out what your parents got you is to suggest things that are cheap and easy to buy. If you ask for something with a memorable name and costs less than $20, it's virtually guaranteed you'll get it. The mistake many people ask for is asking for too many things that are 30/40/50$ and above or things that are hard to locate. If it's not available from Amazon.com or Wal-Mart or the local mall, you can assume that parents will never buy it for you.

You can try to be on your parents back and follow them everywhere, but be sneaky. Before they go to work, make them have to use the bathroom, then check all of their bags they are bringing with them and see what you find ( they might wrap your gift at work). Also, when your parents lock themselves in a room tell them they forgot tape or something. Then while they go get the object, go hide in the room and see what they are wrapping.

A great way to find presents is to take pictures of suspicious areas in your house with a camera, then browse through them in the privacy of your room. You can use your parents' phones, your personal camera, or any other digital picture- taker. If you do this, then you can find possible present areas with the pictures. (Hey, what's that suspicious lump in the closet?)

If you find the present and find out what it is, and you don`t like it, it may be for your sibling.

Spend a little time thinking about what you can get for your parents, too.

Go to a store that your parents might have gone to recently and ask to check their selling/buying history.(Note: This only works if your parents buy with a debit/credit and you need to show I.D., so this only really works if you're in high school and ask your mom/dad/guardian to borrow their I.D. to get the information!

If you already know a couple of gifts, when you open them pretend you are surprised so your parents don't become suspicious that you found out prior to the date. Don't say "thanks" or something in a bored I-don't-mean-it-voice.

If you have a tablet/iPod/phone/etc, once they mention wrapping presents (if they even do), set up the device discreetly, and video them.

If your parents are last minute shoppers and they are shopping on Christmas Eve and you have some mobile phone (iPhone is the best for this) sneak it into your moms purse and record them.

Look for receipts.

If you have an electronic device where your parents cannot see your internet history, use it to look through their email. Chances are they use the same password for everything and/or have them written down somewhere.

Warnings

Wipe your internet history so your parents don't see that you visited this - you don't want your parents lose trust in you!

Being caught present hunting can be dangerous. Some parents will go as far as to ground you! Be aware of the location of family members at all times, and if you hear someone coming get out of there quick!

If the present is under the tree tell your mom or dad that your rearranging the tree to take a picture for a project or just to send it to a friend

Some parents install tamper guards (special markings/arrangements) to be able to tell if anyone touches or moves an item. Check bags and boxes for anything out of the ordinary and always replace it exactly just as you found it!

Some email services, such as Gmail, use tracking to identify unusual devices logging into the account and will send the account a notification telling them this, so if you're trying to look at your parent's email, make sure you're logging in on a device your parent uses to check their email.

If you find something you didn't want, be grateful or next year you might not get anything.

Beware if while doing this Either (a) make the present easy to reach on a late night or (B) while moving the presents try to hide yours and switch it out with an empty one to take with you to your room. Or (c) you can hide the present in the back so at night you can take it.

Under no circumstances should you open or begin to use a present that you find. Present hunting's purpose is strictly to find and look at the present before actually receiving it on Christmas.

Don't invade your parents personal space. They may not want you to know for a good reason.

If you find a present, it will ruin the surprise for Christmas Day. Is that what you really want?

If you have a camera use it to take pictures of the gift and the way they're currently sitting.

If you're looking at your parent's emails, make sure the email you're checking was already read. If it's marked as unread, just look at the title and don't open it, or mark it as unread after reading.

Note (c) is for people who can't re-wrap well and this could take out the chance of anyone taking notice of any marks.